Laundry drier



' Aug. 25,1925.

. NEE? 1,550,700 c.- J. HoLuB LAUNDRY DRIER Filed Jan. 2, 1925 Sheets'sheet l qlllllllllllllllllllll 0( s. C: mue. vm off,

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v s C. J. HOL-UB LAUNDRY DRIER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. .25, 1925.

C. J. HOLUB LAUNDRY DRIER Filed Jan, 2, V19,25 4 Sheets-Sheet :5

Patented Aug. 25, 1925i.

UNITED STATES CHARLES J'. HOLUB, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO', ASSIGNOR T0 THE W. E. LAMNECK COM- PANY, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

PATENT OFFICE.

LAUNDRY DRIER.

Application led January 2, 1925.

To @ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. HOLUB, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Laundry Drier, of which the following specification is a full disclosure.

This invention relates to cabinets primarily contemplated as laundry driers in which the cabinet proper is of improved construction and also the heater or radiator unit within and at the base of the cabinet for circulating heated air through the drier compartment above the heater unit and vents therefrom for drying clothes or other articles y suspended within the drier compartment upon or from suitable movable racks or rods. The structure is primarily designed for domestic laundry drying service and, therefore, provides features of cabinet construc- :ion which offer advantages to the marketing, transporting and installation, so as to be packed for shipping and storage in knockdown form in a compact single case or container, from which the parts can be takenin a correct order for quick, easy assembly and erection. The parts are interfitted and interlocked to make a sturdy structure and fit into and reinforce one another to avoid buckling or binding with expansion or contraction. The whole structure can be assembled without the use of any hand tools, as bolts, nuts and screws are eliminated.

The improved cabinet structure provides a system of ventilation for the circulation of a large volume of heated air uniformly about the clothes for quickly drying the same with the heat under thermostatic control for automatically regulating and maintaining a drying temperature within the Icabinet to prevent any scorching of the clothes, irrespective of the length of time the clothes remain in the cabinet after drying, and to insure absolute safety of operation.

The gas burner or heater element is completely enclosed and disposed within a radiator casing and at one end of the base of the cabinet and amply guarded thereabove so that no clothes can be dropped in direct contact with the heater casing or radiator.

The present invention also involves the use of a radiator comprising a plurality of radiator tubes extending horizontally and connecting between a heater or burner chamber as a manifold for the tubes formed by the Serial No. 23.

casing enclosing the burner at one end of the cabinet and an interiorly baflled manifold at the opposite end of the cabinet for obtaining an increased radiating area and uniformly distributing the heat to all parts of the cabinet. No gas fumes or odors enter the cabinet or clothes drying compartment to permeate or discolor the clothing, the fumes escaping from the radiator unit through a vent flue connecting with the manifold end thereof. This type of radiator unit also eliminates fire hazard.

The cabinet is partially open to the atmosphere at the base from the under side below the radiator and through apertures in the under side of an extending rim edge of a cover or top of the cabinet and along the upper end of the front wall. This provides for a complete circulation from the lower portion of the cabinet to the upper portion thereof, for constantly supplying fresh air, the moisture laden air being drawn off or escaping through the outlets in the cover or top of the cabinet and replaced by fresh air that is dry and sterile.

A preferred embodiment of the invention, in which the cabinet is provided with a pair of doors swinging outwardly and covering the upper portion of the front side of the cabinet and furnishing suiiicient open area for access to the bars or rack to conveniently hang and remove the clothes, is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming part hereof in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the cabinet with one of the doors open, displaying the bars upon which the clothes are hung.

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the base portion of the cabinet and heater unit extending longitudinally of the width of the cabinet.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 2. l

Figure i is a section on line i-l of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary detail topplan view of the corner portion of a frame for locking the side walls together, squaring the cabinet and providing a ledge for removable guard frames over the heater unit.

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view of one of the corner posts showing the connection of the side walls therewith and at the base end of the post. y

Figure 7 is a cross section through the entire cabinet taken along line 7-7 of Figure 3.

Figure 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is an enlarged section on line 9-9 of Figure 7.

Figure l0 is an inside View of the meeting portion of the doors illustrating the door locking mechanism.

Figure ll is a section on line ll-ll of Figure 10.

Figure l2 is a section on line lQ-lQ of Figure 7 The cabinet is made of sheet metal, preferably galvanized, and the end Walls l, 2 and rear Walls 3 of substantially plain sheets of metal upon which a minimum amount of machining is required for cutting openings in the end Walls or Window openings through Which the fixtures are engaged, or finishing the opposite upper and lower ends of the walls for supportingly connecting cross members or parts. rllhese Wall sheets are engaged or slipped into grooves or channels formed in the corner posts 1l, each post being made from a sheet metal blank bent into angle bar shape providing angularly disposed Webs. The Webs of the bar at the outer longitudinal ends are reversely bent upon themselves to provide channel portions 6, With the channel openings outwardly to receive the marginal edges of the Wall and end sheets of metal. This provides slip joints for connecting side and end Walls to the posts, and the parts engage to a sutticient depth and under sufficient friction to provide a sealing connection, and acconm'iodate for contraction and expansion so as to avoid any warping or buckling, With one part reinforcing the other and uniting into a rigid. sturdy structure. The corner posts are made of the same gauge of metal as the side Walls, the angle and reverse lap bend making a Very staunch post and a trim or moulding edge for the cabinet, the outer surface of the posts being slightly offset from the plane of the Walls, which adds materially to the ornamental value of the structure. This also enables the use of plain sheets Without an;v machining for jointing, reducing the cost of manufacture, avoids injury to the gal` vanizing coating of the metal and facilitates compactly packing the structure in knockdoivn form and in ass'zenibling the parts.

The outermost lap 7 ot the channel portion toward the lower or base end of each post, (see Fig. G), is cross slit as at S for compressing the laps upon each other for a portion thereof beyond the slit t-o provide a leg portion, and a closure for the lovfer end of the channel, or shoulder against which the lower edges of the Walls Within the channels engage. This elevates the lower edges of the Walls above the floor upon which the cabinet is stationed and leaves a free space beneath the cabinet base and floor surface.

Owing to the Width of the cabinet, the rear Wall, S is made up of several sections or panels, in the present instance the Width of tvvo sheets Which are joined together by channel bar 9 comprising a sheet metal blank. bent upon itself into 'l' and channel form, to provide a central reinforcing rib l() longitudinally of the bar and a pair of oppositely disposed and aligned channel portions ll-ll into which the opposing` ends of tivo sheets are slipped, similar to the corner post connection, the bar in the present construction being disposed centrally of the rear wall, and extending for the complete height of the walls.

'il he front of the cabinet is provided with an opening of an appropriate size for free access to all of the bars, racks or other clothes supporting means supported Within the cabinet for ease in hanging and removing the clothes. The opening entends the full width of the cabinet between the front corner posts. A front wall section l2 for enclosing api'n'oximately the lower half of the cabinet is formed .from a single sheet ot metal of a length corresponding to the full Width of the cabinet and has its opposite ends engaged into the channels of the respective corner posts for joining this front Wall section to the posts substantially in the same manner as the end and rear .valls.

The upper longitudinal edge of the front Wall section l2 is flanged inwardly with a double lap bend 'i3 which serves as a jamb for the opening and a ledge for the raelr or rod supporting bars fte-leldisposed at an incline upwardly adjacent the end Walls respectively. A top front Wall section i5 of sheet met-al of a length of the cabinet width, has its opposite ends engaged in the channels of the front corner posts, and this Wall section, as the lower Wall section, along its lower edge is flanged inivardly by a double. lap bend lo to provide a jamb for the door opening and also to reinforce the Wall section, and maintain the longitudinal plane for a tight fitting of the doors when closed.

Side jamb strips 17, formed of sheet metal, one for each side of the opening, are engaged .in the channels of the front corner posts between the top and loiver front Wall sections, as shoivn in section Fig. l2. The strips are nach formed from a metal blank bent into form to provide a longitudinal rib t8 for the inside face of the strip and when the strip is inserted in position in the corner post it provides a front face Hush with the front face of the front Wall section for the doors to l an? against at the hinge end ot the doors. pair of doors 19-l9 provide a closure for the opening. They are hingedly fixed to the corner posts llO and open outwardly, meeting at the center of the opening in rabbeted form to make a sealing joint when the doors are closed. One of the doors carries a bolt lock for locking the doors. The lock comprises a swivel disk 20 fixed to a handle on the exterior side of the door, and a pair of oppositely extended bolt rods 21--21 each having an end pivotally connected to the swivel disk 20 and guidingly mounted upon the door, with the free ends of the rods adapted to respectively engage openings in the upper and lower jamb flanges of the upper and lower front wall sections.

rlhe upper edges of the sheets forming the walls, are reversely inwardly bent upon themselves to provide a channel edge 22 around the upper edge of the wall in which a depending` flange 23 of the cover or top 24 interfittingly engages. The cover is made tray or box form to give the same edge thickness as a moulding for the top of the cabinet, and is of slightly greater area than the cabinet proper so as to project beyond the plane of the side walls, and provide an inturned lateral flange portion 24a which is perforated to furnish vent openings 25 around the cabinet top for the escape of the moisture laden air from the interior of the cabinet. Additional openings 25a are provided in the front top wall section 15 arranged in a row across the wall section. This ventilation prevents any pocketing of air and results in maintaining a. constant circulation of fresh dry air about the clothes, hastening the drying process, especially when heated air is passed through the cabinet.

The tray or box form of construction of the top or cover member makes the same very substantial and rigid, and the interftting joint connection with the side walls, reinforces the parts, squares the side walls and provides for convenient assembly or removal of the parts without the use of screws, bolts or fasteners to hold the parts together.

The lower edges of the sheets forming the walls of the cabinet are bent inwardly to form a channel flange 26, miter trimmed at their ends to offer clearance in assembly position of the walls. This channel flange reinforces the base edges of the walls, and provides a ledge to support the radiator unit which extends the full width of the cabinet.

The radiator unit occupies the entire base area of the cabinet and comprises a plurality of spaced horizontally disposed heat conductor tubes, 27--27 connecting into manifold casings 28-29 at their opposite ends, the manifold casing 28 at one end of the cabinet serving as a heater chamber, within which the gas burner or heating element 30 is installed, comprising a rectangular box-like struct-ure made of sheet metal having a double walled top 3l and an open base. A. gas burner is shown in the present instance, but other types of burner or heating elements for different kinds of fuel may be substituted.

rlhe burner is removably secured within the burner chamber casing engaged at opposite ends into bracket clips 35 fixed to the end walls of the heater casing or manifold as shown in Figure 7. The gas burner may be of any type of construction, and in this case is of oval tube form having a gas inlet stem 36 cast integral therewith and extending laterally centrally therefrom through an opening in the side wall of the burner chamber casing and adjacent the end wall of the cabinet to bring the gas mixer valve and gas pipe connection exterior' of the cabinet. The inner side wall of the burner chamber casing is provided with a plurality of openings, each having a pipe coupling sleeve 37 fixed to the casing walls for telescoping into one end of a respective radiator tube 27, the opposite ends of the tubes engaging into openings in the side wall of a second or vent manifold casing 29 likewise representing a sheet metal rectangular box-like structure. This manifold casing is provided with a vent opening having a flue pipe nipple or sleeve secured to the end wall and adapted to extend through an opening in the corresponding end wall of the cabinet for making a flue pipe connection therewith exterior of the cabinet. A baffle plate 38 is fixed to the outer end wall of the manifold 29 over the vent opening and extending beyond the vent opening at `cpposite sides thereof to form a passage transverse to the flue opening and open at its opposite ends communicating with the chamber formed by said manifold and with the radiator tubes.

The radiator manifolds 28, 29 are loosely supported upon the base flange or channel of the side walls of the cabinet, the casing structure of the burner manifold at the base of the opposite end walls thereof which engages in the channel flange so as to retain the same against longitudinal movement. A base plate 89 seated upon the channel flange 26 of the cabine-t walls provides a partial closure for the base of the cabinet beneath the radiator manifold 29 and rear end portion of the radiator tubes to reduce the open base area of the cabinet and guard against a direct admission of air into the cabinet which could not be heated to ay proper degree of temperature in passing about the radiator, especially at the lowest heat radiating portion of the radiator. Likewise, a guard plate 40 is disposed above the heater manifold and forward portion of the radiator tubes, to guard against a direct admission of air at the hottest portion of the radiator. Vi`he plates Si) and l() checlt he direct admission of air for their ri tive portions of the base area. of the cab'. y for the purpose ot' cstablisl'iing a uni 'ni insulator and einperature of air through the cabinet.

A base plate il slidably engages upon the channel flanges of the iront and rear walls of the cabinet beneath the heater chamber or manifoldi as a bottom for said chamber. This plate depends slightly upon the lower edge of the walls to admit air beneath the burner to aid in combustion and also as an insulation to prevent the heat from being unduly deflected downwardly.

The guard plate et() loosely rests upon a frame 42 of angle bar structm'e, to provide a horizontal ledge rim flange and a second depending flange for engagement into the channels of clip bar or strip ilf3 secured to the side walls of the cabinet. rihis irame also serves to square and reinforce the lower base portion of the cabinet.

To prevent any clothes from being dentally dropped upon the rad' of 'adjacently disposed wire nettinp4 i frames lll-4A are removably supperl upon the squaring frame This lurfveyer may be of any forni of construction and may represent a single sheet of expanded metal, as the commerciai metal lathing, of the full area dimension of the cabinet..

The clothes in the present instance are hung upon rods disposed in a step like arrangement having` their opposite ends loosely engaged in relative spaced notches 47 of the rack bars lll-11h set at any incline adjacent the end walls of the cabinet. These racks or bar supports are each formed of a sheet metal blanl; bent upon itself and into forni with one end resting upon the jamb flange of the front wally the opposite end slitted so as to engage into the post channel as shown in Figures T and 9 securely holding the rack bar in place although readily remoyal'ile. A, second set of horizontally disposed racl; or bracket bars il-6 are fixed to the end walls of the cabinet for an additional support for the bars.

For interior cabinet lighting, an electric light fixture t8 may be installed in the c cabinet engaged through au openingl in and secured to onel of the side or end walls as shown. Likewise one of the walls may be provided with a window through which with the aid of the electric light inside of the drying` chamber illuminates the entire chamber so that the progress of the drying can be observed and so that it is not necesi sary to interrupt the drying` process or waste any of the heat by opening` the doors of the cabinet.

The burner is equipped with a thermostatic heat control which allows accurate needn/oo regulation of the drying temperature within the cabinet. vi/Then set it maintains the l hred temperature constantly, without reit prevents any coming scorched and insures absolute safety of operation.

The construction of thermostat may be of any commercial type most suitable for the particular purpose, the structure thereof forming no part of the present invention. ln the present instance, as illustrated, it comprises a thermostat tube .30 extending 'through one of the side walls of the cabinet the upper portion thereof, connecting with a gas regulator Valve 5l interposed in the pipe connection leading down "ardly to the gas burner.

In the use of the cabinet, with the doors normally closed, and the gas burner or other eating element in :oper-ation, the products of combustion therefrom pass from the. heater manifold at one end of the tubes into and through the tubes into the manifold at the opposite end of the tube heat radiating from the manifolds and tubes as a radiator' unit upwardly into the cabinet drier chamber above the radiator.

The interior of the radiator being substantially closed to the interior of the cabinet does not permit of the escape of any gas fumes or odor into the drier chamber of the cabinet. As the heat radiates into the drier chamber it creates an induced draft to the incoming fresh air entering through the open base of the cabinet which is heated as it passes upwardly about the radiator tubes. The tubes are of an appropriate size and numberhfor amply heating a large volume of air and which to a degree must take a somewhat horizontal course along the heater manifold end of the tube owing to the disposition of the base plates 39 and et() relatively at opposite sides of the radiator and at relative opposite ends thereof. 'The base plate 39 prevents the direct admission of cold air at the end of the radiator remote from the heater element or burner, which would interfere with producing a uniform drying temperature throughout the drying compartment.

The incoming Aair entering at the portion below the heater manifold, which is more intensively heated is not admitted directly into the drier compartment, as this at suoli point would cause a rapid upward current in column forni which would destroy the establishing of a uniform temperature in the cabinet.

it has been experienced that in disposing the plates 30 and d() so that about one-fourth ot cabinet area, and at approximately the intermedi ate portion of the radiator, is directly open to the atmosphere that a suflicient Volume of air is admitted and circulated upwardly uniformly throughout the drier compartment, and as nea-r as possible of equal temperature for the area of the cabinet to give the saine efiiciency in all portions.

Vhen a gas burner is used for heating, a suflicient amount of air is drawn in through the mixer at the outside of the cabinet to prepare the gas for combustion and through the space between the lower end of the side walls of the heater manifold and base plate 41 for complete combustion, and the cool air drawn in over the topl of the base plate l1 is at a sufcient velocity to prevent any overheating of the base plate or delico-ting the heat from the burner downwardly which would unduly heat the floor upon which the cabinet rests, v`to constitute a lire hazard.

As an additional precaution against fire when the cabinet is stationed upon a wooden floor, the cabinet. is set upon a sheet metal platform 52, having apertured side walls.

A door frame 53 having a door hinge thereon extends through openings in the cabinet and wall and adjacent wall of the radiator manifold for access to the burner for lighting purposes.

Having described my invention, I claim:

l. A drier for clothes vand the like, comprising a cafbinet open at the bottom, a longitudinal radiator therein at and across the bottom thereof, a burner element within the radiator at one end thereof, a vent flue connecting with the radiator at the opposite end, a plate providing a partial base for the cabinet above the end of the radiator and containing the heater element, and a second plate providing a partial base for the cabinet below the radiator atan opposite end thereof, remote from the burner element- 2. A drier for clothes and the like, comprising a. f" cabinet open [at the bottom, a radiator therein and at the bottom thereof comprising a plurality of tubes having manifold connected ends within a manifold of the radiator, a vent flue connecting with a manifold at an opposite end of the radiator, a plate providing a partial base for the cabinet above the end of the radiator and containing the heater element, and a second plate providing a partial base for -the cabinet below the radiator at an opposite end thereof, remote from the burner element.

3. A drier for clothes and the like comprising a cabinet, a radiator therein and at the bottom thereof formed of a plurality of tubes adjacently disposed with manifold connections at their opposite ends and a heating element within a manifold at one end of the tubes, and a vent flue connecting with the manifold at the opposite end of the tubes.

4. A drier for clothes and the like comprising a cabinet, a longitudinal radiator therein at the base thereof, a heater element within and at one end of the radiator and a sectional base for the cabinet arranged to cover the radiator at the heater element containing end and beneath the radiator at the opposite en-d thereof and providing an opening at an intermediate portion for admitting air about the radiator and into the cabinet.

5. A drier for clothes and the like comprising a cabinet, a longitudinal radiator therein at the base thereof formed of a plurality of tubes connected at their opposite ends, a heater element within and at one end of the radiator, and a sectional base for the cabinet covering a portion of the radiator at the heater element containing end and beneath the radiator at the opposite end thereof, and providing an opening at an intermediate portion for admitting air about the radiator and into the cabinet.

6. A drier for clothes and the like, comprising a cabinet, a longitudinal radiator therein at the base thereof, a heating element in one end of the radiator, the radiator being open to the atmosphere beneath the heating elements for admission of air into the radiator, and a vent Hue connecting with the radiator at the opposite end and leading exteriorly of the cabinet.

7. A drier for clothes and the like comprising a cabinet, a radiator therein and at the bottom thereof formed of a plurality of tubes adjacently disposed with manifold connections at their opposite ends and a heating element within a manifold at one end of the tubes, and a vent flue connecting with the manifold at the opposite end of the tubes, the manifold containing the heating element being open to the atmosphere below the heating element for admitting air into said manifold and radiator tubes.

8. A drying cabinet of the class described comprising corner posts having channels therein, the front, back and ends of the cabinet being detachably connected in the channels of the respective posts, a top for the cab-inet, a frame ydetachably supported in the cabinet and serving to hold the front, back and ends against disengagement from the posts, and heating elements disposed be low the frame and detachably associated with the cabinet.

9. A drying cabinet of the class described comprising corner posts, a front, ends and a back detachably engaged with the posts, a frame detachably engaged with the front, ends and back, screens supported by the frame, a top detachably engaged with said front, ends and back and serving in conjunction with the frame to prevent disen gagement of the front, ends and back from the corner posts.

l0. A drying' cabinet of the class described comprising corner posts, a front, ends and a back detachably engaged with the corner posts, air heating elements mounted in the cabinet, a drying chamber above the heating elements for receiving air heated by the heating elements.

ll. A diyinflcabinet of the class described comprising' a drying chamber, means for furnishing' heat to the drying chamber including' a burner casing' and heat collecting` chamber7 telescopically connected flues for conductingy heat from said casing` to the heat collecting chamber.

12. A drying cabinet ot' the class described, comprising' angle corner parts of sheet metal structure having channels formed in the longitudinal ends thereof, sheet metal Walls detachably engaged into respective channels in said parts, whereby the Walls haringa slip connection with the parte to accommodate for contraction and expansion, a cover for the top of the cabinet detachably connecting' with the Walls and parte for Securely uniting the parts, and a frame detachably engaged with the Walls and With the lower portion of the cabinet tor binding' the parts and squaring the cabinet.

13. drier :tor clothes and the like comprising; a cabinet, a longitudinal radiator therein at the base thereof formed of a plurality of tubes connected at their oppoeite ends, a heater element Within and at one end ot the radiator, and a sectional base tor the cabine-t covering, a portion of the radiator at the heater element containing end and beneath the radiator at the opposite end thereof, and providing an opening` at an intermediate portion for admitting air about the radiator to be heated and into the cabinet, and escaping' through openings in the top of the cabinet whereby heated air is circulated uniformly through the cabinet.

ln Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name.

CHARLES J. HOLUB, 

